capeandcowllogs | So thanks for the memory | but it was getting in the way lately

WHO: Wu and Rikki
WHERE: The respawn warehouse
WHEN: March 12, early morning
WARNINGS: :(
SUMMARY: Rikki's just been resurrected, and there are roughly twenty bazillion people she wants to see. But she only trusts one of them to bring her clothes.
FORMAT: Para to start, whatever Toast wants after that

Rikki comes to on the cold floor of a warehouse. She's freezing and her head is pounding. It takes her a second for her mind to come together, to remember where she was last, to piece together what must of happen. As soon as she realizes it, remembering fuzzy details- she throws up.

"He killed me- he actually-" she manages to say, before heaving again.

It takes her a couple of minutes- painful, intensely private minutes- to compose herself so she can think of what to do. Get the hell out of the freezing warehouse is her first thought. For that she's going to need clothes, and shoes, and transportation- her apartment is nowhere near the harbor, and she can tell, after a wary peek out the door, that she's close to it.

Finally, she fumbles for the communicator, which thankfully she didn't barf on, and flips it on. She's recently revived, naked as the day she was born, and heart-sore- this is, she decides, a job for family.

She flips on her comm, filters her message, and then, in a hoarse voice, whispers "Wu? Pick up- please pick up. It's me."

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Wu doesn't believe her ears when her comm flickers on, but the moment she recognizes the voice, she rushes to it in a frantic flurry of worry and relief and motherly instinct.

"RIKKI? RIKKI WHERE ARE YOU."

It's definitely more of a demand than a question.

"W-warehouse by the harbor. I'm really-" Rikki grits her teeth until they stop chattering. "Could you bring me clothes? Please?"

She shudders a couple of times. "Really cold, Wu. I- god. The warehouse is right next to the water. On [street]."

She's about to start snotting all over herself if she keeps talking, so she stops, trying to push the relief of hearing Wu's voice over the edge to overwhelm the ache under her sternum.

Wu is moving the moment Rikki asks for clothes, rushing to gather blankets and Danny could part with some shirts and yes, these pants would probably work until they could get Rikki back home and once her arms are full, she snags her comm and murmurs, "I will be there soon. Stay..." where you are? Alive? Wu isn't sure what she wants to say, so she bites her lip. "Just stay."

And then she's out the door and running across town to find the daughter of her heart.

"Okay," Rikki agrees quietly. She huddles up in a corner of the warehouse and tries to keep as warm as she can until Wu gets there. She know Wu won't take long.

And sure enough, after she's counted to 500- it's a long, slow count, since she keeps getting distracted by the fact that Bucky- no, not Bucky, but whoever was in his head had killed her- she hears a noise and look up to see Wu.

"Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you," Rikki says, breathing hard in relief or sorrow or anger- she can't tell which.

Wu has tears threatening to spill from her eyes when she sees Rikki. She stands over the girl and puts on her stern face.

"Never do that again, do you hear me?"

An then she sobs just slightly at the end of her order, lets the clothing fall to the floor, drops to her knees and wraps Rikki up into the tightest hug she can manage.

"I was so scared.'

Rikki hugs back just at tightly, appreciative of both the comfort of having someone else there and also the warmth of Wu's body heat.

She can't get any words out, not for a long time, she just sits there hugging Wu and shivering and choking on her words- "I was too. I- I'm still so scared."

Wu strokes Rikki's hair and makes comforting little noises.

"Shhh. No more scared now. I'm here. Nothing will hurt you now."

Now that the initial shock has passed, Wu is conscious of the fact that Rikki's skin is too cold for her own good. Without breaking away from the hug, she reaches over with one arm and snags the thick blanket she'd pulled from her bed, wrapping it around Rikki's shoulders.

"There. Less cold, yes?"

Rikki reaches with one hand to cover all of her body except for the arm she's using to hug Wu, not quite ready to let go yet. She's even able to stop stammering with cold.

"Yeah. Feel... I feel better now." she smiles at Wu in what is quite possibly the weakest, most unconvincing way of all time, but it's a smile, at least.

"Good." Wu kisses Rikki on the forehead. "When you are unhappy, I am as well."

Tenderly, she tucks Rikki's hair behind her ear. "Now, we should be going home. You need rest and food. Too skinny still."

The last is said with a glimmer of laughter in her eyes.

Rikki nods, finally letting go with her- though only for the time being. She manages another shadow of a smile at the comment about her being too skinny. "Okay."

She's warmed up some, and she has someone here with her, so she reaches over to the pile of clothes and managing to get them on without ever getting out from under the blanket- not because she's modest but because she's spent enough time buck- she winces- stark naked in the cold. "Let's go home."

Wu scoots back a little bit to give Rikki room to dress. When she's done, Wu stands with her. She takes Rikki's hand in her own, unwilling to let go in case the girl suddenly disappears for no reason.

"Yes. Let's."

And then they went home, and Wu coddled Rikki and wrapped her in seventy bajillion blankets, and made food that Rikki did not throw up and it was good except for all the crying (there was a lot of it).

THE END

So thanks for the memory | but it was getting in the way lately

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